On Sat., Nov. 20, 2010, James Hall was elected to a two-year term as President of the Milwaukee Branch NAACP. The current NAACP administration wishes Mr. Hall well, and plans to work with him to ensure a smooth transition of power.
It is time we all came together. The local branch just witnessed the most bitter and personal campaign of its 90- year existence. Now, Milwaukee needs NAACP members to come together.
On behalf of the NAACP, I want to congratulate Wendell Harris on running a positive and hate-free campaign. Harris has served this community well, we cannot say enough to thank him for his efforts on the NAACP education committee – without his assistance it is likely residents would not have retained the right to vote for their MPS representatives, it is likely children would have been handcuffed in schools, and it is likely that public schools would have utilized textbooks that failed to illustrate the contributions of African American and Latinos throughout our nation’s history. We wish Wendell Harris and his family well in their future pursuits.
Despite the hateful rhetoric leading up to the election, we are happy to report that the election was peaceful and orderly. Turnout was substantially lower than we expected. We expected approximately 600 members. In the end, approximately 350 members participated. In comparison, past elections ranged from 250 to 550 members.
To outsiders – do not let this election define the NAACP, we are much better than the rhetoric that has filled the Internet, the newspapers and the radio the last few months. The NAACP has hundreds of volunteers who work diligently to promote equal opportunities and to eliminate racism and discrimination in the community.
In the next couple of weeks, the community can expect a smooth transition of power. The local NAACP will continue to remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The NAACP President will continue to be present in the facility and accessible to members.
Hall will assume the presidency on January 1, 2010. In the next weeks, he will announce the future hours for the Milwaukee Branch NAACP. It is our hope that he will maintain the present policy of open door access to the Milwaukee Branch NAACP President.
We look forward to working with James Hall to ensure a smooth transition of power. In fact, NAACP president Jerry Ann Hamilton and Hall will meet in the upcoming days to discuss the latest police shooting, UWM’s Affirmative Action policies, opportunities for small class sizes in public schools, and the under-employment of African Americans on road construction and rail construction projects.
We would be remiss if we did not discuss recent attempts to label the NAACP as dysfunctional. The NAACP has taken on powerful interests and consequently has been subjected to unfair criticism. As always, we will leave the name-calling to others. We stand by our record. In recent months, the Milwaukee Branch NAACP has been intimately involved in:
- defeating the proposed takeover of the Milwaukee Public School System
- organizing local efforts for the One Nation Rally
- advocating for the charges against the West Allis bar owner who burned President Obama in effigy
- integrating the South Eastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
- increasing involvement of minority contractors on State of Wisconsin contracts
- advocating for intercity and intracity rail projects
In addition to these projects, NAACP volunteers work daily on issues that do not receive publicity, but nonetheless impact life within the community. Daily NAACP volunteers assist and empower individuals to deal with a variety of workplace issues, correctional system issues, and educational issues. The organization has continued to provide topnotch services even in this era of declining resources.
In closing, election season is over. It is now time for all NAACP members – old and new – to commit to work together to continue the great work of the organization.
Jerry Ann Hamilton, president of the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP
